“Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.”

1 John 2:15–17 (NASB95)

It is hard not to love this world, or this life. Things are pretty convenient for many of us. We do not lack or worry about food, we have endless games, social media, and live streaming at our fingertips, and there is no end to leisure activities in which we can engage. However, John is not teaching about that. He is referring to the world as the broken down state of this earth. The world here, in context, is darkness, sin, and systems opposite of the will of God. First John is written to the believer, so for the believer to really love this world, one must compromise their love for the Father.

The world is defined of the cravings, and nature of sinful man, the lust and desire for more of what we want that satisfies the desires of the sinful man, and the pride of our accomplishments on this earth and what we can do, declaring we don’t need God, or His ways. This is the product of the world, the worldly, and the lost.

May we not forget the last verse above, verse 17. The world and all its sinful ways are going to pass. They will be lost, extinguished, forgotten. They will pass when we do, they will pass when God brings all things here to an end, they will pass in His plan. They are not eternal, but temporal, but the damage a commitment to the ways of this world can do on a soul, is eternal. It’s all going to burn.

Nevertheless, the person who does God’s will never pass. They will “live forever”. Everything about the Father is eternal and everything about this world is temporal. Are you a person that does the will of this world or are you about doing the will of God. IF you are doing the will of the world, the teaching of Christ, and the apostles are clear. You will be lost and pass away with the sinful, lustful, prideful ways of this selfish and fallen land, with its systems. But if you choose to live for God, choose to do His will, you will never perish, but live eternally as your life will become eternal, dedicated and set apart for the Lord. You will never regret that kind of life.

Questions to Ponder

Is it your heart’s desire to do God’s will above all else?

Do you daily engage in the temporary and eternally destructive ways of this world, lust, cravings, pride, love of self, without remorse?

Would people and your family describe you as Godly or worldly?

How can we do the will of the Lord more in our daily lives?

Share this:

Like this:

LikeLoading...

Related

Published by nateelarton

Dad, husband, multi-site church planter, pastor, bass guitar player, wood carver, leader raiser, I love Jesus so much, ordained with the Assemblies of God and serve as an Executive Presbyter for the Michigan District, with a B.S.and a M.A.T.S.
View all posts by nateelarton

Recent Comments

Search Topics Nate has written about

Search for:

Now there are

142,380 reads

Who’s Nate Elarton?

Nate Elarton is a church planter, multi-site pastor in Temperance, MI and Toledo, OH. Nate and Wendy Elarton started Compelled church in 1996. Nate and Wendy have 3 kids. Nate enjoys reading, woodcarving, writing, racquetball and being the spiritual leader of Compelled Church.

Elarton/Compelled Church Pics

Processed with VSCO with m1 preset

My hero, Steve LeVeck

Nate & Wendy Elarton have been married for 31 years and pastor Compelled Church. They started the church in 1996 in their living room. It is a missional, multi-site church with a location in Temperance, MI and Holland, OH. They have 3 amazing children.

If you would like information on Nate’s speaking/teaching schedule please contact him at nateelarton@compelledchurch.tv